Palestinian Aid

Lord Hylton: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they are considering reducing education, health and welfare aid to Palestinians, given that 62 per cent of such services are provided by non-governmental organisations without secure revenues.

Baroness Amos: DfID will continue to provide substantial support for Palestinian education, health and welfare. Funds are channelled through the Palestinian Authority, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees, and non-governmental organisations. All have an important role in Palestinian development. The Government's strategy for support to Palestinians aims to help the Palestinian Authority to be responsible for a larger percentage of services itself. Total budgeted expenditure for the current financial year of £26.5 million is £2 million more than the originally budgeted expenditure for the previous year. The Secretary of State for International Development announced at the weekend an additional £2 million to help meet the immediate needs of the people of Rafah.

Former Diplomats (Open Letter)

Lord Selsdon: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they will reply to the letter of 26 April to the Prime Minister sent to him by 52 former ambassadors and high commissioners.

Baroness Amos: I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given in another place by my right honourable friend the Prime Minister to the honourable Member for Blaenau Gwent (Llew Smith) on Thursday, 6 May. (Official Report, Commons; col. 1723W.)

Sentencing: Licence Period

Baroness Anelay of St Johns: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In how many cases since 1 January 2001 where a defendant has committed an offence during a licence period, ("the at risk period"), following a previous sentence of imprisonment and a judge sentencing for the new offence begins, has the at risk period been served in full before the new sentence begins.

Baroness Scotland of Asthal: The information requested is not available centrally in England and Wales, Northern Ireland or Scotland.

Fire and Rescue Service: Charging

Lord Brookman: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether, in the light of Section 1(1)(f) of the Fire Services Act 1947, and the statutory duties under the Fire Precautions Act 1971 and the Fire Precautions (Workplace) Regulations 1997 to enforce such legislation, it is appropriate for the fire and rescue authorities in England and Wales to offer a fire safety design consultancy service that involves charging professional fees for advice given in respect of buildings where they subsequently monitor the adequacy of those measures.

Lord Rooker: The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister consulted on the appropriateness of the fire and rescue service charging for certain services in February 2004. The consultation closed on 7 May; the responses have not yet been fully analysed. In general, fire and rescue authorities may not charge for giving advice under Section 1(1)(f) or for acting as a statutory consultee. Similar provisions are included in the Fire and Rescue Services Bill currently before the House of Lords. However, in some circumstances, where the fire and rescue authority agrees to advise in a way that goes beyond its statutory functions then it is not unreasonable for it to seek an agreement to ensure it can recover its costs.
	It is for fire authorities to consider the liabilities they may face if they give incorrect or inappropriate advice and also for them to ensure that they operate within the limitations of the law governing local authority chargeable service provision and cost recovery.

Iraq: Prisoners

Lord Lester of Herne Hill: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	(a) What is the total number of persons currently detained in Iraq; (b) how they are classified; and (c) how many are prisoners of war and how many are civilians.

Lord Bach: As of 23 May 2004, the United Kingdom were holding in Iraq 125 internees, no prisoners of war and no detainees. The Ministry of Defence is not in a position to comment on the number of persons being held at US facilities. Individuals are classified as internees due to their being held if they pose or are likely to pose a threat to coalition forces. They are classified as detainees if they are suspected of a criminal act under Iraqi law. Detainees are immediately handed over to the Iraqi police service.

Iraq: Ministerial Accountability

Lord Lamont of Lerwick: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether Ministers enjoy any immunity from prosecution under the United Nations torture covention, including immunity in respect of the behaviour of British troops in Iraq.

Lord Bach: The United Kingdom's obligations under the torture convention were implemented by Section 134 of the Criminal Justice Act 1988. Any prosecution for torture in the United Kingdom would therefore be under domestic criminal law, rather than under the torture convention directly. There is no immunity for Ministers from prosecution in the United Kingdom for an offence under the provision of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.

Iraq: Ministerial Accountability

Lord Renfrew of Kaimsthorn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the principle of ministerial responsibility applies to the Ministry of Defence in circumstances when Ministers did not ensure that they were adequately informed of reports from the International Red Cross or of submissions from Amnesty International pertaining to the conduct of British military personnel in Iraq.

Lord Bach: The principle of ministerial accountability applies to the Ministry of Defence. Ministers were adequately informed of all significant issues relating to United Kingdom Armed Forces contained within the International Red Cross February interim report five months before they became aware of the report. The Ministry of Defence receives a number of communications from Amnesty International, including letters from different offices and officials, letters received as a result of AI campaigns and reports. Some are dealt with by officials, others by Ministers.

Royal Navy: MK251 Active Decoy Round

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Which Royal Navy ships are currently equipped with the MK251 active decoy round; and
	How many additional Royal Navy ships will be equipped with the MK 251 active decoy round this year.

Lord Bach: All major Royal Navy warships (frigates and above) will be fitted with the DLH decoy launcher system from which the MK251 active decoy round can be fired.
	Currently 29 RN warships are fitted with the DLH launcher and a further three warships will be fitted with the DLH during this financial year.
	Whether the warships carry the MK251 active decoy round depends on the nature of operations, and to divulge which ships are embarked with the MK251 ADR could be harmful to operational security.

Royal Navy: MK251 Active Decoy Round

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What provision there is to fit ships taken up from trade with the MK251 active decoy round.

Lord Bach: There are currently no plans to equip ships taken up from trade with the MK251 active decoy round or its associated DLH Launcher.

Gulf War 1990–91: Vaccines

Lord Morris of Manchester: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Further to the Written Answer by the Lord Warner on 12 May (WA 45–46) on Gulf War vaccines, what consultation the Ministry of Defence had with the suppliers on potential adverse consequences of its decision to plan the timing of the anthrax immunisations of troops involved in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict differently from that in the marketing authorisation and to give fewer immunisations than were recommended; and what action was taken to ensure that individual service personnel were aware of the decision and of any potential adverse consequences.

Lord Bach: The anthrax vaccine was manufactured by the Centre for Applied Microbiology and Research (CAMR), now the Health Protection Agency, Porton Down. Information on what consultation the Ministry of Defence may have had with CAMR at the time of the build-up to the 1990–91 Gulf conflict is not readily available. I have therefore asked officials to research the background. I will reply as soon as that research is complete.

Airfield Support Services Project

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	When they expect to announce the result of the competition for the airfield support services project and the reason for the delay so far.

Lord Bach: The aim of the airfield support services project is to seek the most cost-effective and viable solution for the provision of airfield support services, including wider fire services, without compromising operational capability and/or safety. I am not yet in a position to say when a final decision will be announced; this will be only after full and careful consideration of all the options, on which work continues. This is a complex project and the time taken reflects the need to ensure that a fully informed decision is made.

Defence Equipment: UK and US Trade

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	What is the value of United Kingdom exports of defence equipment to the United States and the value of similar United States imports into the United Kingdom in the last year for which figures are available.

Lord Bach: The value of identified goods exported to individual countries is published in the Government's Annual Report on Strategic Export Controls. Copies of these reports, the most recent covering the calendar year 2002, are available from the Library of the House and via the Foreign and Commonwealth office website www.fco.gov.uk. In 2002, the value of identified defence imports into the United Kingdom from the United States was £867 million.

British Grand Prix

Lord Astor of Hever: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	In the light of the International Olympic Committee's report of 18 May, which stated that the British Olympic bid came eighth out of nine in terms of government support, what action they will take to retain the British Grand Prix.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: The East Midlands Development Agency is currently leading discussions on behalf of the Government about the developments around Silverstone. While these discussions continue, they have resulted in the recent announcement that the British Grand Prix will be retained at Silverstone until 2006.
	Concerning government support for the British Olympic bid, I refer the noble Lord to the Answer given to the noble Lord, Lord Moynihan on 25 May (Official Report, cols. WA 127-129).

EU Duty Rates

Lord Hodgson of Astley Abbotts: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Why the schedule to the Excise Duty Points (Etc.) (New Member States) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1003) makes no reference to the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Malta.

Lord McIntosh of Haringey: Under their accession agreements, each of the eight countries listed in the Excise Duty Points (Etc.) (New Member States) Regulations 2004 (SI 2004/1003) are allowed transitional periods within which to meet EU minimum duty rates on cigarettes and certain other tobacco products. During these transitional periods, member states may impose quantitative restrictions on quantities of these products from those countries imported for personal use. However, before 1 May 2004, both the Republic of Cyprus and the Republic of Malta met the minimum duty rate requirement. Therefore no quantitative restrictions have been required.

NHS Efficiency Figures

Baroness Noakes: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will publish the cost weighted efficiency index figures for 2002–03 on a comparable basis with those published for previous years.

Baroness Andrews: Traditionally, efficiency in the National Health Service has been measured using the cost weighted efficiency index but changes in the way healthcare is delivered now mean that it gives an increasingly incomplete and misleading picture. Therefore, an update was not published in the 2004 departmental report.
	The main drawbacks of the cost weighted efficiency index are that it:
	fails to count a large amount of NHS activity—for example primary care consultations/procedures, nurse led procedures, family health services prescriptions, NHS Direct calls and walk-in centre visits;
	takes no account of quality such as better health outcomes, shorter waiting times, single sex wards or cleaner hospitals;
	classifies activity in only 12 activity types, two of which (inpatients and outpatients) account for 85 per cent of the cost weights. This limits the ability to measure changes in case-mix; and
	perversely records shifts in activity from inpatients to outpatients and from outpatients to primary or community care as inefficiency.
	The Office for National Statistics is working with the Department of Health as part of the Atkinson review of measurement of government outputs to develop new measures of NHS productivity.

Osteoporosis

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they will allow National Health Service patients under the age of 65 with osteoporosis to be prescribed the drug forsteo as a hormonal agent for osteoporosis; and
	Whether they support the proposals by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to restrict prescriptions of forsteo to those under 65 years of age.

Baroness Andrews: The National Institute for Clinical Excellence's consultation document does not constitute its formal guidance on this technology. The recommendations are preliminary and may change after the consultation. As a registered stakeholder of the guidance, the Department of Health has responded to the consultation and it would be inappropriate to comment further on this draft guidance.

Osteoporosis

Lord Fearn: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether they plan to reduce the waiting time of up to 12 months for bone scans prior to the issue of drugs for osteoporosis patients.

Baroness Andrews: Data of waiting times for diagnostic tests are not collected centrally; however data may be collected locally by some strategic health authorities.

Broadband: Rural Access

Baroness Byford: asked Her Majesty's Government:
	Whether the paucity of broadband available in large parts of the countryside means that many landowners and tenant farmers are unable to consult Countryside Agency maps showing the extent of public access granted over their land.

Lord Whitty: The Government are working to promote the most extensive rollout of broadband, including providing £30 million via the UK Broadband Fund to regional development agencies and devolved administrations to develop broadband networks and run pilot projects and over £1 billion between 2003–06 for broadband connectivity for public services. Defra and the DTI are working together to facilitate the rollout of broadband in rural areas both through the provision of advice and guidance and through support for community organisations. Our success to date has been recognised by the OECD. The OECD report on The Development of Broadband Access in Rural and Remote Areas published in May 2004 found the achievement of 85 per cent DSL coverage by the end of February 2004 and the revised goal of 99.6 per cent coverage by summer 2005 showed the success of the UK Government's approach in relying on competition to expand broadband availability.
	The Countryside Agency's maps relating to the new right of access under the Countryside and Rights of Way Act 2000 are available in paper form but they can also be viewed on the Internet using dial-up connections as well as via broadband. If landowners and tenant farmers prefer to make use of broadband connections and these are not available in their homes, over 85 per cent of libraries have such connections.
	The maps may be viewed in a number of places in paper form. Relevant provisional maps have been sent to library authorities, local libraries, local authorities (with additional copies to selected libraries and commons registration offices), national park authorities and parish councils. As conclusive maps are produced, they are also being sent in paper form to appropriate local authorities, national park authorities and parish councils. Both provisional and conclusive maps are available for viewing at Countryside Agency offices in Cheltenham, Bristol, Manchester, and regional offices within the mapping area concerned. Precise details of where members of the public may view the provisional and conclusive maps in paper form can be obtained by telephoning the Open Access Contact Centre on 0845 100 3298.
	Copies of the provisional and conclusive maps in paper form are also available to purchase by calling 0870 122 1242.